Tipsheet

Tim Walz's 'Stolen Valor' Fiasco Just Got Worse

Matt Vespa
Matt Vespa  |  August 07, 2024 10:30 PM

As Sarah wrote earlier this evening, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz’s military service has been called into question after he was straight-up busted for embellishing his record. The phrase “stolen valor” has been tossed around, especially since it’s been revealed that Walz told Business Insider that he deployed to Iraq. In reality, he fled, abandoning his National Guard unit before it deployed to Iraq.

Our friends at RedState had it first:

A bombshell report from Jordan Schachtel dropped on Wednesday afternoon has blown this scandal wide open.

 As Schatchel notes in his piece, the first mention of Walz going to Iraq could have just been Joshua Green, the reporter who did the profile, making an assumption. That would be unusual given the editorial standards at play at such an outlet, but it is at least possible that Walz himself didn't tell Green that he served in Iraq.

 That second mention, though? That one isn't explained away by assuming an overzealous reporter just got out over his skis. Green is clearly describing what Walz told him regarding his supposed denial of entry to a George W. Bush rally in 2004 (that claim also appears to be largely made up, but that's another story). There is no other logical explanation.

 Further, Green, who now works for Bloomberg is still under the impression that Walz served in Iraq, making the same claim on the day the governor was made Harris' running mate. Again, the way this reads doesn't seem like a professional reporter just making an assumption. Green appears to have been told this by Walz himself.

It gets worse—Walz claimed he was a veteran of the Afghanistan War:

Democratic vice presidential nominee Tim Walz has described himself as "a veteran of Operation Enduring Freedom," the official name of the U.S. government’s war in Afghanistan following the Sept. 11 attacks.

 But Walz never deployed to the Middle East. And, when an Iraq War veteran confronted Walz's aides with evidence of what he called "stolen valor," his aides didn’t do much to address his concerns.

As a first-time congressional candidate in 2006, Walz’s campaign announcement described him as "a veteran of Operation Enduring Freedom," an archived version of the press release shows. Two years earlier, in 2004, Walz organized a protest against then-President George W. Bush in Mankato, Minn. A photo of the rally shows Walz carrying a sign reading "Enduring Freedom Veterans for Kerry." 

Even CNN couldn’t pivot from this obvious lie, yet some on this anti-Trump network did try to defend Walz:

This issue isn’t going away, and some are even suggesting that Walz might get dumped. Let’s not get ahead of ourselves, but I wouldn’t mind early Christmas.

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